ArtSees Diner is a virtual Diner, living vicariously through the culinary experience thru some amazing fooderies. Join us as we encounter gastronomic pleasures on this journey known as life. Welcome to the “Diner!” The “Chefs” are Mary E., Steve Champagne and coming soon the Divine Ms. Martha!

Monday, July 14, 2014

Where the Culinary Rubber Meets the Comedic Road

Remember how I was raving about Italian Night each Thursday at "It's Vegas, Baby!" at Blue Chip Casino and Spa in Michigan City, Indiana?

Well, just when we thought it couldn't get any better, it got way better - orders of magnitude better as a matter of fact (assuming you're engineer enough to appreciate that phrase).

First of all, Sunday evening was their regular menu, which we'd accidentally seen once, but never ordered from. It contains a large array of selections, from appetizers, to hand made pizzas, to sandwiches, to home style cooking, to significant seafood and steak offerings. There were also specials. We started with the best jalapeño poppers we've ever had.

I have cat-like curiosity about meatloaf, so I just had to know. It came with mashed potatoes, those curly, fried onion thingies that are a bit like loose Christmas tree garland, and sliced, cooked carrots. Just the right amount of a fine mushroom gravy coated the top of the meat. And I'm sorry, mom, but this was far and away the best meatloaf I've ever had. It was a solid inch and a half thick, and more on the meaty side than the bready side, which is how I prefer my meatloaf.

My partner ordered the seven ounce filet special, which included green beans and garlic mashed potatoes. She said it was to die for and, indeed, my taste buds crossed through this veil of saliva to awaken in a more heavenly place after sampling it.

Courtesy of the casino's generosity in the form of food comps, we were there to sample. To that end, we also ordered the margherita pizza, which wound up being best of class as well. We had just enough funds to order the chocolate silk pie, which was essentially a fireworks climax to our gluttonous foreplay. We should have eaten only half of it (isn't it great when you have to look either over or around your dessert to see the rest of the room?), but (sing the rest of this to Don McLean's "American Pie") Satan was laughing with delight, the day, the waistline, died.

But that wasn't all. The $23 bottle of wine we selected was fantastic *and* we stayed on for the free comedy show (a Sunday night feature, I believe), ordering a couple more bottles of the same along the way. I suppose three bottles of wine for two people sounds excessive but, hey, we're talking about a five hour period on an extremely solid base of memorable food, and a couple comedians whose material would have leveled us even without Bacchus' ecstatic blood coursing through our own veins. As a matter of fact, the final comedian Vince Carone was so spot on regarding what's wrong with America that George Carlin had to have been hovering somewhere in the room, flashing two thumbs up while grinning from ear to ear.

Our server Heather was a real delight. She was warm and attentive, her timing impeccable. If the kitchen was the orchestra, she was the conductor shaping the phrasing, the balance, the overall experience. Bravo, maestro Heather! Bravo!

Make haste to this incredibly versatile eatery. The menu has you covered across a broad spectrum of prices. Did I mention that they even have a "make your own mac and cheese" offering? I mean, need I say any more?